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iRENTANO'S VIEWS OF AMERICAN CITIES. 



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ASHINGTON, 

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ENTANO S 



NEW YORK. 

CHICAGO. 
WflSMINGTON. 
LONDON. 
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Copyri,i<'lil 1890, 
Bv Hrentano's, New York. 






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Ihc Capitol 




CCUPIES a commanding site on wliat is known as Capitol Hill. 'Ilie cornerstone of tlieold 
Capitol, which is composed of Virginia sandstone, and now forms tlie centre of the inip.csing 
building, was laid by General Washington on the iSth day of September, 1794- Though 
the designs for it were drawn by William Thornton, an luiglish resident of New York, the 
old Capitol is really the work of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, a famous English architect of 
the time. He it was who began rebuilding the Capitol after the British had bm'ned it in 
1S14, and continued his work of restoration till 1817, when he resigned, and was replaced by Charles 
l5ulHincli, a Bostonese architect. The latter followed Latrobe's plans in all particnlars, and iinished the 
liuilding in 1S27. The wings, which are of white marble, were added in 1851, and were designed by Thomas 
U. Walter, of Philadelphia, who prepared also the drawings for the dome. In 1867 the Capitol of the 
United States of America was completed. 

The Capitol is 751 feet long and 324 feet wide, covering nearly four acres of grountl. The total lieight 
from the base line of the eastern front of the building to the crest of the statue of Freedom which surmounts 
the dome is 307^^ feet. The diameter of the dome is 135^^ feet. The ground floor of the north wing is 
occupied by the Senate, and contains the famous bronze door designed by Randolph Rogers. The soutli 
wing contains the Hall of Representatives. On this floor are also the great Rotunda, the National Statuary 
Hall, the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court Rof>m. The Rotunda is in the centre of the original 
Capitol, and is 180 feet liigh. 

Horatio Greenough's celebrated statue of George Washington occupies a position on the eastern grounds 
of the building, facing the grand portico. The grounds around the Capitol have been tastefully laid out. 
The total amount appropriated by Congress since 1800 for the construction of the Capitol is $15,000,000. 



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lis situated in the luirtli wing ol' the Capitol, li is 112 feet lo*ig, 82 feet wide, and 30 feet high. 
The ceiling is constructed of iron girders and cross pieces with glass panels decorated 
with national emblems. The walls are decorated in gold and buff. The floor is covered 
with a heavy carpet, and the desks and chairs of the Senators are arranged in concentric 
semicircles. The President of the Senate sits on a small dais, before a wide desk. At his 
right is the Sergeant-at Arms, and at his left sits the assistant door-keeper. A gallery is 

reserved fcir the members of the foreign legations, and galleries for the friends of the members of the Senate. 

The galler\' ft)r the representatives of the press is directly over tlte chair of the President. These galleries, 

t<.>gether with the galleries tor the public, will se;it upwards of i,oco persons. 




Jhc Jlall of the Jlousc of SUpvcscntatiues 

lis 1 5y feet long, 93 feet wide, and 36 feet high. It is siluatcil in the south wing of the t'lpitol. 
The chairs and desks of the Representatives are arranged in the same manner as in the 
Senate Chamber. The Speaker's chair is placed on a platform. On the right of ihe Speaker 
is a stand on which the mace is placed when Congress is in session. The ceiling is profusely 
gilded and decorated with panels bearing the coats-of-arms of the diflferent states. The 
galleries offer ample room for 2,000 visitors. 
The 325 Representatives in Congress a-re n])j)(irtioned at present ( 1889) as follows: Alabama, 8; 
.Arkansas, 5 : California, 6 : Colorado, l; Connecticut. 4 : Delaware, l; Florida, 2 ; Georgia, 10 : Illinois, 
20; Indiana, 13 : Iowa, ir : Kansas, 7; Kentucky, 11 ; Louisiana, 6; Maine, 4 ; Maryland, 6; Massa- 
chusetts, 12 : Michigan, 11 : Minnesota, 5 : Mississippi, 7: Missouri, 14 : Nebraska, 3 : Nevatia, i ; New 
Hampshire, 2 : New |er.se\', 7 ; New York, 34 ; North Carolina, 9 : Ohio, 21 ; Oregon, i : Penns\ Ivania, 
28; Rhode Island, 2: South Carolina, 7 ; Tennessee, 10; Texas, 11 ; ^'errnont, 2; Virginia, 10; West 
Virginia, 4 : Wisconsin, 9. 



mu White Jtousc, 




OUTH front, overlooks a i)ark sloping gradually to the banks ol the Putomac, and ofiers a 
magnificent prospect of the wooded hills of Virginia and Maryland. This park belongs to 
the government reservation called "The President's Grounds,'' in which the White House 
is situated. The basement, which is invisible from the Pennsylvania side, is entireh' above 
ground here, owing to the sloping of the ground, and gives the edifice a facade of three 
stories. Directly in front of the south portico is a stand from which open-air concerts are 
given every Saturday afternoon during the summer season, which are free to the j)ublic. 

The main plan of the White House was copied by Hogan from the Duke of Leinsler's mansion at 
Dublin, and, as it stands to-day, the " President's Palace" is a faithful copy of the Irish nobleman's house. 
The portico with the Ionic columns at the front of the building was placed there in 1829 b\' President 
Jackson. Otherwise no alterations or additions have been inade to it since its completion in the latter part 
of 1799. The White House is now inadequate to the social and official surioundings of the American 
President, and it is proposed to retain the present building for the executive office, and to erect a new and 
more spacious K.xeciitive Mansion. 



Jhc Oivccu J{oom 




dS luniislied anii decoraied in green, a pale green wall-paper with sprays of gold covering the 
walls. At official receptions the President receives his guests in this room, where they are 
presented to him by the Marshal of the District of Columbia. After their presentation the 
guests retire to the other state apartments. The Green Room contains also the life-size 
painting of Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes, by Huntington. The canvas is over seven feet high: 
the oaken frame was made by the Cincinnati School of Design, and is over ten feet in height. 

This picture of Mrs. Hayes was presented to the nation by the National Temperance Union in 1881. In 

this room hang also jiortraits of Mrs. Polk and Mr.s. Tvler. 



gite ghtc ^^oom 




S oval in form, and decorated and furnished in light blue. In this room the President receives 

on ceremonial or social occasions. The walls are tastefully ornamented in blue and gold, 

and the upholstery in silk with gold trimmings is surburb. This room opens into the Red 

Room, which is the President's family drawing-room, and in turn gives access to the State 

H Dining-room. 



ghc WiiXXy J'tatc, and Baxiy Ilcpavtmcuts 




CCUPY the immense struclure in Renaissance style on Pennsylvania Avenue, west nf the White 
House, which was erected in 1871-S7, from designs by A. B. Mullett. It is 567 feet long, 
with 342 feet frontage, and is 142 feet high. It covers 4^ acres of ground, and cost 
$10,700,000. The State Department occupies the south front, the War Department the 
north front, and the Navy Department the east front. In one of the rooms of the War 
Department is a collection of pictures of former .Secretaries of War, and another room 
contains portraits of famous soldiers. The headquarters of the army are also established here, and contain 
portraits of all the commanders-in-chief from Washington to .Sheridan. From 1775 to the present day the 
armv has had 17 commanders-in-chief but Congress conferred the full title of fleneral on only fr)ur of them 
— Washington, Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan. 

The Department of State embraces a Diplomatic Bureau, a Consular Bureau, a Bureau of Inde.\es and 
Archives, a Bureau of Accounts, a Bureau of Statistics, a Bureau of Rolls, and several minor divisions. The 
great seal of the United States is kept in this department, which contains also the first draught of the Declara- 
tion of Independence and of the Federal Constitution, Washington's commission as commander-in-chief of 
the American army, letters and papers of Washington, Jefierson, Madison and some of the other early 
Presidents, and many other precious documents and relics of the War of Independence. 



'I'hc J'reasuvy JluiUUng^ 




N llie east side of the Kxecutive Mansion, is constructed of Virginia freestone and Maine 
.i;ranite. It is +60 leet long', and has a frontage ot 264 leel on Pennsylvania Avenue. It is 
Cirecian in architecture, three stories liigh, and surmounted by a balustrade. The fa9ades 
on the northwest and south have porticoes of Ionic columns, cut out of immense monoliths 
quarried in Maine. 

The Treasury Department was established by an act of Congress in 1789. This act 
created the office of Secretary of the Treasury, and confided to his care the entire charge of the finances of the 
government, which had hitherto been in tfie hands of commissioners. Tlie first Treasury building — a small, 
wooden structure — was burned to the ground in 1814 by British troops. The second building was also 
destroyed by fire in 1833. The cornerstone of this present building was laid by President Jackson, Robert 
Mills being the architect. It was completed in 184 i, and the extensions were added in 1855, from designs 
made by Thomas U. Walter. These e.xtensions were completed in 1869. The building had cost up to 
that time over $7,000,000, and since then immense sums have been spent in alterations and decorations. 
It contains 200 rooms, e.xclusive of the vaiilis in the basement. Tiie principal divisions of the Treasury 
Department are : the offices of the First and Second Co'mptroller, the Commissioner of Customs, the Com- 
missioner of Internal Kt-venue, the Treasurer of the U. S., the Register of the Treasury, the Comptroller of 
the Currencv the Director of the Mint, and the First, .Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Auditors. 



She ^vmy l^acdical J^auseum 




N Tenth Street was the scene of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on Frida\-, April 14, 
1865, the day after the celebration of the close of the Civil War. Opposite the museum is the 
Peterson house whither the Emancipator was carried and where he died on the following day. 
A marble tablet on the house bears the record of Lincoln's death. Ford's Theatre, as the 
building was called at the time of the assassination, was purchased by the government in 
in 1866. It was entirely reconstructed, and is now used for the Army Medical Museum, 
and pension division of the Surgeon General's Department. 








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'^hc ;i^oUUevs' ^omc 




is situated a short distance from \^^^shington on the Rock Creek road in the District of Co- 
lumbia. Tiie main building i^ constructed of white marble, has a frontage of 200 feet and 
a tall central tower. The wing is 60 feet in length. Several marble cottages, occupied by 
the officials, are situated in the grounds, which cover an area of 500 acres, as is also a sum- 
mer house for the Presidents of the United States. The home was founded in 1851 at the 
suggestion of General Winfield Scott, whose statue occupies a commanding position 
on the grounds, with the money levied by him on the City of Mexico for violation of the truce. Veterans 
of the Mexican War, and privates of the regular army who have served faithfulh' for t^entv vears, or have 
been disabled in the service of the country, are entitled to residence in this institution, which by reason of the 
excellent care taken oi its inmates fulh- deserves the name of Home. It is under the supervision of a board 
of high armv officers, presided over bv the Lieutenant-Cjeneral commanding the .■\meriean Armv. 



'^hc llamj ]3avd 




Us located on the Anacostia, the eastern branch ol the Potomac. It contains tw'o ship-house.s, 
a copper-rolling mill, a naval storehouse, foundries, and shops for the manufacluie of ord- 
nance, and all the various articles used in the equipment of war vessels. The yaid com- 
prises 42 acres of ground. In the naval museum attached to it are many interesting relics 
of olden times, among them being a Spanish gun, cast in 1490, brought to America by 
Corlez, and which was used in the conquest ol Peru ; a mortar taken from Cornwallis, and 
many other oiijecis of interest. The Marine Barracks, where the marme corps of the United Slates Navy is 
(|uartered, are also near the Nav)- ^'ard. Ncarlv all the gieat war vessels possessed b\' the United States 
dining the List fiftv \'ears were built at this eslalilishmenl. 



I'hc Qluvfidrt statue, 




Y John Q. A. Ward, stands at the Maryland Avenue entrance to the Capitol Park. It was 
erected by President Garfield's comrades of the Army of the Cumberland in 1887. The 
statue is of bronze, and cost $33,500. The pedestal with the recumbent figures represent- 
ing the Student, the Warrior, and the Statesman, was erected by Congress at a cost of 
$31,500. The total height of the statue is 18 feet. 

The Garfield Memorial Church is on Vermont Avenue, between N and O Streets. In 
the small chapel which formerly stood on this site President Garfield worshiped for many years, and his 
pew, draped in black and bearing a silver tablet, has been placed in the present edifice. 

In the waiting-room of the Washington station of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad, where President 
Garfield was shot on July 2. 18S1, is n marble memorial tablet, erected by the railroad company directly 
over the spot where he fell. 



Jhc J^tatuc of C6cucval Hacksou 




A.S unveiled on the 8th of Januaiy, 1S53. It is the work of Clark Mills, ami was cast from 
the brass guns and mortars captined by the hero of New Orleans. The statue is about one- 
third larger than hfe, and weighs 15 tons. The horse is poised upon its hind feet without 
being secured by the usual bars and rivets. The statue occupies the centre of Lafayette 
Square opposite the \\'hite House. Its liital cost was §50,000. 



%\xc J^tittuc of ^vcav Jithuival i^amucl |5'. gupout, 




V Launt 'I'iiompson, stands in the center of tlie circle at the intersection of Massachu.setls and 
Connecticut .Avenues. It was ordered by Congress in 1882, and erecteil in 1884, Hon 
Thomas F. Bayard delivering the oration. Tiie statue represents the .\dmiral in full 
uniform, standing on the quarter deck, marine glass in hand. The pedestal is composed 
of grav granite, on a base of blue rock. The total cost of the statue was $14,000. 



The gqucstrian J'tatuc of ("Seucval ("iconic p. 'gliomas 

r.ANDS on Thomas Circle, at the intersection of Fourteenth Street, Massachusetts and 
Vermont Avenues. The statue was erected by the Society of the Army of the Cumberland 
Congress having provided themone)- for the pedestal. Statue and pedestal are 32 feet high, 
and cost $75,000. The pedestal is of granite, ornamented with bronze tablets on which 
are the insignia of the .\rniy of the Cumberland. The statue was unveiled on the ujth 
(lav (if No\einber, the oration being delivered b\' Hon. Stanlev Matthews. 




^hc ISIivshiuiiton pConutweut 




ISES to the heiglil of 555 leel tVoni its base, and is 572 feet above tlie surface of the sui- 
lounding country, as it stands on a terrace 17 feel high. The foundation of the shaft is 
126 feet square, and is 37 feet below its base. It is constructed of solid blue rock and 
bears a weight of 81,120 tons. The base of the monument is 55 feet square, the lower 
walls measuring 15 feet in thickness. At the height of 500 feet, wliere the pyramidal 
cap begins, the walls are 35 feet square, and 18 inches thick. The inside of the walls is 
of granite laid in regular courses with tlie marble on the outside, except for the first 150 feet from the base 
where the granite has not been laid in regular courses. The top is entirely constructed of marble. The 
cap stone is 5 feet 2^ inches high, and about 3 feet square at its base. The aluminium tip which finishes 
the pyramid is 9 inches in height, 4^ inches in diameter at the base and weighs 6^ pounds. In the 
interior of the lower walls are set a number of memorial stones sent by states, corporations, and foreign 
governments, to be embodied in the monument. The interior of the shaft is fitted with iron steps, goo to 
the 500 feet, and an elevator runs to the top. The monument is lighted h\ electricity, the onlv windows 
in it being in the lower course of the roof-stones, two on each side. 

The cornerstone of the monument was laid on July 4th, 1848. Work was begun at once, and con- 
tinued till 1854, when it was suspended for lack of funds. In 1876 the government took charge of the 
construction, and Colonel T. L. Casey, of the Corps of Engineer.s, detailed to superintend the work. He 
set the capstone on December 6, 1884, in the presence of President Arthur, W. W. Corcoran, M. F.. Bell, 
Edward Clark, and John Newton. The monument was dedicated on the 21st of February, 1885. 



gk^fliugtou 




ONTAINS the largest and most importani ol the 82 military burial grounds established 
throughout the country by the Uiiiied States governmeni. It contains the graves of over 
16,000 soldiers, the most interesting monument in the cemeter)- being the granite tomb 
erected over the remains of 2,111 unknown soldiers gathered from the battle fields of Bull 
Run and on the route to the Rappahannock. The estate comprises i, 160 acres and was 
originally part of the vast lanti grant made to Robert Howson by Sir William Berkeley, 
governor of Virginia in the reign of George II. The present Arlington estate was purchased by John 
Custis, the great-grandfather of George Washington Parke Custis, and remained in the possession of 
his descendants until the beginning of the Rebellion, when it was confiscated by the U. S, government. 
Subsequently the government paid $150,000 for it to George Washmgton Custis Lee, the eldest son of the 
great Confederate leader. 




(general ICee's gotne 



T Arlington consists of a large centre building with two wings. It is constructed of brick 
covered with stucco, and has a frontage of 140 feet. The lofty portico of the mansion 
is supported by eight majestic columns. The view of the surrounding country which 
this portico offers, is one of the finest in the world, comprising as it does the sweep of 
the river and the imposing buildings of the national capital. The house at Arlington 
gains additional historical interest from the fact that George Washington also has inhab- 



ited it with his wife. 



3^0 nut ilcruou 




S situated on the western bank of the Potomac, in Fairfax County, \ iiginia, i6 miles from 
Washington. What is now known as Mount Vernon is but a small part of the original 
plantation, and is in possession of the Ladies' Mount Vernon Association, incorporated 
in 1856. The mansion fronts to the northwest, with its rear, on which is the piazza, look- 
ing towards the river. It is constructed of wood, painted in imitation of stone, has two 
stories and an attic and is 96 feet long, and 30 feet wide. The room in w-hich the First 
President died on December 14th, 1799. is on the second story. It contains the bedstead on which he lay 
in his last hours, and has been religiously preserved as it was in the days when the founder of American 
Independence occupied it. Many relics of Washington are kept in the building, among them being the 
key of the Bastille presented to him by the Marquis de Lafayette, while the room which Martha Washington 
occupied after her liusban I's death, and Lafayette's room are also shown to visitors. 



^he gomb of (i5covc\c Mtashiuciton 

S situated a short distance south of the mansion. Thee.xtcrior tomb is constructed of brick, 
with a hii;h, arcljed entrance, closed by an iron gate, above which, on a plain slab, are the 
words: "Within this enclosure rest the remains of General George Washington." Over 
the interior tomb isa stone panel, with the inscription: " I am the Resurrection and the 
Life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." The marble sar- 
cophagus containing Washington's remains is placed directly in front of the entrance, and 
is visible from without It is cut out of one solid piece of marble, and bears on its coveting stone the coat 
of arms of the United States, sculptured on a draped flag, and the name "Washington." A few feet from 
it is a similar sarcophagus, inscribed, "Martha, Consort of Washington. Died May 21, 1801, aged 71 
years." The vault at the rear of the enclosure contains the remains of Judge Bushrod Washington, and 
other members of the Washington family. In front of the tomb arc two marble monuments erected in 
memory of Judge Washington and J^)hn Augustine Washington. 




i 



She l^Htional fauscmn 




AS erected in 1879 ^^' '''^ government as an annex to the Smithsonian Institution. It was 
originally designed to contain the art treasures exhibited by foreign governments at the 
Centennial Exhibition, — which were presented to the United States, but its scope has 
graduallv been widened, and it now is a general museum in which all the geological and 
industrial collections of the gi.ivernment are kept on exhibition. It also contains the 
Washington relics. It is built of brick, in variegated couises, and mainly but one story 
hi"-h, the pavilions at the four corners are three stories in height, and the four entrances are Hanked by 
towers. The dome in the centre rises to a height of 108 leel. On the ground floor are 17 halls, divided 
only by the columns supporting the rool, and on the main floor and on the two upper stories of the pavilions 
and the towers there are 135 rooms, which are devoted to oflices, working rooms, etc. The floors are con- 
structed of tiles laid in artistic forms. 

The museum contains large collections of industrial products, historical relics, and ethnological objects, 
and its collections are rapidly becoming the largest and most complete in the world. 



L 




Sht lost (Office 




(.'( 'UPIES the .scjuare situated between Seventh and Ei.ntith and E and F Streets, Northwest. 
Its foundations were laid in 183Q, the D street portion liaving been designed by Robert 
Mills, while the e.xien.sion was designed l)y T. U. Walter, and commenced in June, 1855. 
The style is pure Corinthian, the materials usetl in its construction being New York and 
Maryland white marble. It is 300 feet long by 204 feet broad, two stories high, resting 
on n rustic basement, and contains deep vaults. 
There are at present 47.683 post-oflkes in the United States, which require the services of 67,000 
officials. .The Dead-Letter Office is one of the most interesting branches of the postal service. Nearly 
15,000 letters are received here daily from different parts of the countrv, exclusive of packages and other 
mad matter. About 10,000 letters are forwarded every year to this office without any address whatever on 
the envelope. One of the greatest curiosities in the Post-Oflice Department is the book of post-office 
accounts kept by Dr. Frank hn, the first Postmaster-General of the Colonies. 



T\u pension Wficc 




situated on the northern end of Judiciary Square, near G Street. It is built in Renaissance 

-i^ 1 . (jf pressed brick, with terra coiia mouldings, and is 400 feet long by 200 feet broad, 

the walls being 75 feet high. The walls enclcse an interior courtvard, which has a high 

roof of iron and glass, and is crowned with a dome. A notable feature of the exterior 

decoration is the band of sculpture in terra cotta on the level of the second story, three 

leet in height and 1200 feet long, which represents various .scenes of a soldier's life, with 

incidents from. the career of a man-of-war's man. The terra cotta ornaments, medallions, and cornices are 

also very handsome. The Pension Office disburses annually $30,000,000 for pensions, and as much more 

for arrears of pensions. The total cost of the building was about $500,000. 






LBJp id 



